Month: January 2026

Planning application paves the way for 67 new homes

Award-winning five-star housebuilder Cruden has submitted a planning application for a new residential development at Kirkton North, Livingston.

The site is currently allocated for residential development in the West Lothian local development plan and will deliver much-needed multi tenure family homes for West Lothian.

Located to the west of Livingston and just three miles from the town centre, the proposed development will provide 67 high-quality homes, including detached, semi-detached, terraced homes and cottage flats, offering accommodation from two- to five-bedroom homes.

In line with local policy, 25% of the homes will be delivered as affordable housing, supporting a balanced and inclusive community to meet a wide range of local housing needs.

Designed by EMA Architects to integrate sensitively with its surroundings, the scheme places a strong emphasis on design quality, placemaking and landscape.

The 8 acre site features retained woodland and a new neighbourhood play area, alongside enhanced pedestrian connections linking the site to nearby bus stops, paths and local amenities.

The new development also boasts excellent transport links and access to good schools and a wide range of facilities, including parks, supermarkets, a medical centre and a pharmacy.

The plans have been shaped through extensive engagement with West Lothian Council and the local community, with feedback from pre-application consultation events directly influencing the final layout, housing mix and open space provision. The development will also deliver energy-efficient homes designed to meet modern building standards, helping to support more sustainable living.

Paul Doran, Development Director at Cruden, said: “From the outset, our approach has been to create a carefully designed development that respects and enhances its surroundings, strengthens the local sense of place, and thoughtfully integrates new homes with green spaces and the existing community.

“Our proposals provide much-needed, high-quality housing for Livingston, building on our recent track record of delivering homes across a range of tenures in West Lothian. Beyond housing, the development will contribute to the vibrancy of the area, promote sustainable living, and generate long-term social and economic benefits for the wider community.”

Pending detailed planning consent, Cruden expects to start work on site in 2026.

Encore Bars Group acquires The Globe Bar in Edinburgh

Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co has announced that The Globe Bar on Niddry Street has been acquired by hospitality operator Encore Bars Group, adding to the group’s growing city centre portfolio.

Encore Bars Group operates several venues across the city including The Boston Bar on Hanover Street, Freddy’s on Frederick Street, and Westside Rodeo on George Street.

The new owners ran The Globe Bar in its current format over the festive period before closing after Hogmanay for a full refurbishment. They plan to reopen the venue in February 2026 with a new concept.

Edward Fox, Director at Encore Bars, said, “We are delighted to be setting some roots in the Old Town for our expanding group. We have been looking for the right venue, and definitely feel we have found it at The Globe. 

“We can’t wait to add our personality and touch to the venue in the New Year, aiming to open in February 2026 with our next concept.”

Simon Watson, Senior Business Agent at Christie & Co commented, “We are delighted to get this deal over the line for Edward and the team at Encore Bars. It is an excellent location to expand their business into Edinburgh’s Old Town. 

“Our role goes beyond selling agents, and through our established network and contacts we are also able to identify acquisition opportunities.

“We welcome confidential, no‑obligation discussions for those looking to explore their options in the hospitality sector.”

Stop Climate Chaos: Take action to strengthen Scotland’s climate plan

In November the Scottish Government published a new draft Climate Change Plan, a critically important document which should explain how it plans to reduce emissions across all parts of the economy and society.

But it doesn’t contain the ambitious, fair action we need to tackle the climate crisis and deliver real benefits to our lives. We need your help to put pressure on the Scottish Government to improve it.

A proper climate plan should contain full details of the steps that will be taken to stop damaging the climate and to make our homes warmer, improve buses, trains and cycling, and enable us all to access healthy, sustainable food. It shouldn’t rely on unproven, expensive technologies to capture emissions that aren’t currently working at scale anywhere in the world.

There are two ways to share your views:

  1. If you have 15 minutes 

Respond to the Scottish Parliament consultation before 25th January. 

You can answer as few or as many questions as you like, you don’t need to be a technical expert. What is valuable is for you to share your experiences and and what climate action would benefit your household and community.

2. If you have more than 15 minutes 

Send an email in response to the Scottish Government consultation and to your MSP before 29th January. 

Sending an email allows you to write what you care about without being constrained by the consultation questions and to make your MSP aware of your concerns.

To share your views, follow these 3 steps:

  1. Write an email to climatechangeplan@gov.scotthat explains clearly:
  • Why you are concerned about climate change.
  • If you are part of climate action happening in your community, explain what you are doing and how the government could support this.
  • What sort of action needs to be in the Climate Change Plan to make a real difference to the climate, your life, your local community, and to people around the world. For example, action to help make your home warmer and bills lower, public transport easier to use, or access to local, healthy food.
  • Don’t worry if you’ve not been able to read the draft Climate Change Plan – it’s just important that you share your views on climate action.
  • We’ve published an overview of what we think the key issues are with the plan here, and our detailed response to the consultation is here, in case you need some ideas for things to include in your email.

2. It’s essential that you complete this form and attach it to the email, to make sure your views are taken into account.

3. You could include your MSPs in the email so they are aware of the climate action you want to see – you can find their email addresses by clicking ‘find MSPs by postcode’ here. You could also ask them for a meeting to discuss the issues you are raising.

If you need any help, contact us at info@stopclimatechaos.scot.

Thank you for taking part – public pressure has forced politicians to deliver more ambitious climate action in the past, and this is a critical moment to do so again.

Becky and everyone at Stop Climate Chaos Scotland

New Youth Group at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre

New youth group starting at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre next Wednesday (14th January) between 4pm – 5pm.

This is open to any young people aged 8 – 12 who are struggling with socialising or confidence, whether that be due to learning disabilities, mental health or other factors.

If you are interested please contact Roz on 07483420441 / roz.leahy@enable.org.uk

This new service is being run by Enable Communities

@enable youth

@Roz enable

Letter: Kickstart 2026 with a challenge to support people affected by lymphoma

Lymphoma Action are inviting everyone to grab their trainers and join Team Lymphoma for a fundraising challenge in 2026.

Whether you want to step up to the start line for the first time, or you’re a seasoned challenge-champion, your support will make a difference to people affected by lymphoma, the most common type of blood cancer.

We have a challenge for everyone this year, from our Bridges of London walk to Tough Mudders, and from three peak treks to fun runs.

Every walk, run, swim or cycle will help us continue to offer people affected by lymphoma expert information, dedicated support and a community that understands. You’ll also be helping us celebrate our 40th anniversary so we would love as many people to get involved as possible!

Please visit www.lymphoma-action.org.uk/Challenges for further details on how you can join Team Lymphoma for a challenge in 2026 to raise funds and awareness.

Together, we can make sure no one faces lymphoma alone.

Yours sincerely

Amanda Harris

Lymphoma Action

Aldi provides over 13,000 meals to Edinburgh charities over festive period

Aldi helped deliver 13,823 meals to people in Edinburgh over the Christmas and New Year period by donating surplus food from its stores.

The UK’s fourth largest supermarket teamed up with local good causes across Edinburgh – including Porty Community Fridge, Food Rescue Group and Tummies Not Trash – to donate a range of fresh and chilled foods from its stores after closing early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Neighbourly, the community giving platform that partners with Aldi, found that charitable organisations faced increasing pressure over the winter period, with four in five charities saying demand for their services had risen over the past six months and demand for foodbanks and other food provision expected to increase by nearly 30% over the colder months.

Aldi has worked with Neighbourly since 2019 and provides surplus food from all of its UK stores to thousands of charities across the country.

Luke Emery, National Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, said: “This Christmas we were proud to support so many incredible charities across the UK who provide essential support to those in need.

“The services provided by food banks are more important than ever in the current climate, especially over the festive period and we’re committed to ensuring those that rely on them have access to a wide range of high-quality foods.”

Steve Butterworth, CEO at Neighbourly, added: “We’re so grateful to have had Aldi’s support for another year.

“Christmas is one of the busiest periods for our charities and the donations from Aldi mean we can help even more people across the country who need that bit of extra support over the festive period.”

Shoppers can donate food to local charities, food banks and community groups via the community donation points in Aldi stores nationwide.

Aldi also works with Company Shop Group, the UK’s leading redistributor of surplus food and household products, to redistribute surplus food from its Regional Distribution Centres. This year, it provided more than 2,500 free Christmas lunches to Company Shop’s award-winning social enterprise, Community Shop.

The UK’s fourth largest supermarket also made it easier for shoppers to give back through a warm clothing and post-Christmas clear-out appeal with The Salvation Army and InPost Lockers, allowing customers to donate coats, hats, scarves and gloves – as well as unwanted Christmas gifts in good condition – at InPost Locker donation points in Aldi stores across the UK.

Jet2 gears up for bumper weekend and launches new sale

  • Holidaymakers can enjoy an extra £100 off per booking on Summer 26 holidays with the UK’s favourite tour operator
  • New sale is on top of £100 off per person and super low £25 per person booking deposit too!

The second weekend January is a bumper weekend for holiday bookings, and Jet2 is spreading even more sunshine by launching an unmissable sale that gives customers even bigger holiday savings.

The UK’s favourite tour operator is giving customers the chance to enjoy £100 off all Summer 26 bookings by using the code NOTHINGBEATS. This applies to all holidays and city breaks departing between 1st April and 31st October 2026, but customers need to hurry as the code ends at 23.59 on 12th January 2026.

This new sale comes on top of an existing sale offering customers £100 off per person on ALL holidays, including Summer 26 holidays. As a result, a family of four can enjoy a saving of £500, on top of millions of Free Child Places this summer, and a couple can save £300 when booking a Summer 26 holiday.

The good news does not end there, as the UK’s largest tour operator is also running a super-low £25 per person deposit across Summer 26 holidays, which ends on 23.59 on 12th January 2026.

Jet2holidays is gearing up for a bumper weekend, as customers look to book a holiday with the award-winning company. The tour operator has reported continued demand from customers relishing the famous ‘Nothing beats’ experience, including the fact that booking a Jet2holiday means flying with Jet2.com and their friendly crew.

As well as a VIP customer service from start to finish, customers can enjoy 22kg baggage allowance, 10kg hand luggage, under-seat bag, return transfers, as well as ABTA and ATOL protection.

Customers looking to book a flight with Jet2.com this Winter also have plenty to smile about, whether it’s for some Winter Sun, a ski break or a city break, as the award-winning airline has also today released 70,000 one-way seats departing until 31st March 2026 at £49 or less.

David Hills, Chief Customer Officer at Jet2 said: “We know that this weekend is shaping up to be a busy one, with customers booking their spot in the sunshine with us.

“We always want to give our customers even more to smile about, so we are delighted to be announcing even more money off our award-winning holidays this Summer.

“With truly fantastic deals on offer, alongside our famous customer service and nothing beats reputation, we are looking forward to welcoming lots of happy customers onboard with us this summer, including of course from our brand-new UK airport base at London Gatwick.”

To view terms and conditions please visit: https://www.jet2holidays.com/promotions

To take advantage of this sale, visit:

https://www.jet2holidays.com/ and https://www.jet2.com/